Filling-supplying mechanism for automatic filling-replenishing looms.



G. A. LITTLEFIELD. FILLING SUPPLYING MECHANISM FOR AUTOMATIC FILLING EEPLENISHING LOOMS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 26, 1910. 972,881

Patented Oct. 18, 1910.

4 BHEETS-SHEET 1.

G. A. LITTLEPIELD.

FILLING SUPPLYING MECHANISM FOR AUTOMATIC FILLING REPLENISHING LOOMS. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 26, 1910.

7 972 881 Patented Oct. 18,1910.

4 sums-sum 2.

G. A. LITTLEPIELD. FILLING sIIPPLYIIIG MECHANISM FOR AUTOMATIC FILLING REPLENISHING LOOMS.

APPLICATION FILED MAB. 26, 1910. 972,881. Patented Oct. 18,1910.

4 BHLBTIHIHEBT a.

G. A. LITTLEPIELD. FILLING SUPPLY ING MECHANISM FOR AUTOMATIC FILLING EEPLENISHING LOOMS. APPL IOATION FILED MAR. 26, 1910.

972,881 Patented Oct. 18, 1910.

4 81 IEETSSHEET 4.

Wtaases, jut/67% I @5522 r 35 into position to be .inserted' automatically UNITE STATES To all whom it may concern:

union.

VCH'ARLES A. LITTLEFIELD, or LownLL, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNoR 'ro DRAPER COM- PANY, F HOPEDALE, MASSACHUSETTS, .AICORPORATION 0F MAINE.

FILLING-SUPPLYING MECHANISM FOR AUTOMATIC FILLING-REPLENISHING LQOMS.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Oct.- 18, 1910.

Application filed March 26, 1910. Serial No. 551,618.

. Be it known that I, CHAR ES A. LITTLE: FIELD, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Lowell, county' of Middlesex, State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in F illing-Suppl in Mechanism for Automatic Fillingep em'shing Looms, of which the following description,

v in connection with the accompanying drawing, is a specification, like characters on the drawing representing like parts.

This invention has for its object the production of novel and improved mechanism for supplying filling in an automatic fillingreplenishing loom, providing for a large supply of spare filling-carriers and relievmg the weaver to a very-greatextent from labor connected with the-supply of filling.

In its 'essentialifeatures my present invention'comprehends a magazine arranged to sustain groups of filling-carriers; a rotary feeder to receive filling-carriers from such groups as the groups are directed from the magazine into discharging position; automatic mechanism to insertthe carriers of a group in the feeder; a transferrer to transfer the filling-carriers one by one from the feeder to. the shuttle, and means on the feeder to assume control automatically of the filling-end of each carrier as it is inserted in the feeder and to retain such control until transfer of such carrier to the working shuttle. Heretofore a ma azine has been devised to hold a large num er of filling-carriers and to conduct 'the carriers in 'a rotary feeder, "to be transferred therefrom to the shuttle, each filling-end being secured to "an end holder detachably mounted on the carrier, as in United States Patent No, 921,909 granted to M. L. Stone, May 18,1909, the structure therein set forth'having a device to detach the filling-end holders necessary in the patented stfiicture, ,inasmuch as the filling-carriers in the magazine are loosely held and are supported one upon another .in' upright compartments thereof, from which they travel individually into position to be inserted in the feeder.

Ithas also been proposed to mount groups of filling-carriers incages, each cage preferably holding several removable carriers, and

.being provided with a filling-end holder for each carrier, the cages being fed automatically step by step, and mechanism is .provided for transferring the carriers one by. one from a cage into weaving-position in the loom, as in United States Patent No. 843,107 granted to W; F. Roper,-February 5, 1907. The cages aresuperposed one upon the other in a suitable magazineifrom which they are fed into position for the transfer of the carriers held therein, and each fillingend is retained by its holder on the cage until the corresponding carrier has been inserted in the working shuttle. Thus there ISIIIO occasion for any change in the control of the filling-ends from the time the fillingcarriers, such as bobbins or cops, .are mserted in the cages until the carriers are transferred automatically to the shuttle, whereas in the Stone patent, supra, there must be a change the control of the ML .ing-ends, due to thestructure of the apparatus in general.

There are advantages attendant upon the use of cages each to receive a plurality of filling-carriers, as the carriers are held firmly and separatel until discharged from the cage, and the filling end holders on a cage are desirable, the. cages being loaded by unskilled l'abor in any convenient part of the mill, W There are also. advantagesin the use of a rotary feeder fonthe carriers, supplied automatically with filling-carriers from a reserve supplyin a magazine, as in the Stone patented apparatus, but the-removal of the filling-end holders from the filling-carriers, and subsequent care ofj'the said holders, is in practice objectionable in some respects.

In my present invention 1' make use of cages each holding a group of filling-carriers and having holders for the filling-ends thereof, and these cages are sustained in a novel and convenient manner in a magazine, from which they are fed, into discharging position. When a cage is so positioned the carriers are removed therefrom one by one automatically and inserted in a rotary feeder similar to that shown in the Stone patent, but 'I have provided the feeder'with devices which catch the filling-ends and disengage them from the holders on the cage \shuttle. structure the advantageous features found as the carriers are removed therefrom.

'These devices retain control of the fillingends so caught and disengaged .until the corresponding filling-carriers have been transferred from the feeder to the working Thus I am enabled to utilize in one bodiment of my present invention applied thereto, one of the cages being shown in discharging position; Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the apparatus shown in Fig. l, a

magazine beingbroken out; Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of; oneof the cages, with a'plurality of filling-carriers held removably therein, and showing the filling-end holders onthe outer end of the cage; Fig. 4 is an enlarged transverse section of a cage, broken portion of the guideway leading from .the'

out between its ends, and taken on the line 4 .-'4.-, Fig. 5, showing also one of the endholders movable with the rotary feeder; Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail in side elevation of a portion of acagein discharging position, and two of the end-holders movable with the feeder, one of the latter being in readiness to catch and disengage a fillingend from its holder on the cage; Fig. 6 is a --detail front elevation of the means for retaining a cage in discharging posltion,

with the devicefor discharging the filling carriers from the cage and in'serting them in the rotary feeder, only aportion of the latter being shown, and the transferrer is omitted altogether to avoid confusion; Fig.

7 is a detail in top plan view of a part'of the mechanism shown in. Fig. 6, to be referred to; Fig. 8 is a detail in'plan view of the cage positioning means, showing its cooperation with the filling-carrier next to be discharged from the page, the latter being 'shown n transverse section, and the discharging device is shown in plan ready'to remove the filling-carrier from the cage and insert it in the rotary feeder.

The sparefilling-carriers are initially placed 'in suitab/lev holding devices termed I cages, one 'of which is shown separately In- Fig, 3, at A. Each cage is conveniently made as a skeleton or open, rectangular frame of plate metal, of greater length than height, one-end, as a, having at its inner face a series of seats a for the butts of a plurality of filling-carriers B, shown as bobbins having rings 1) around their butts, and of well known construction, and-a cross-bar 01* extended from the top to the bottom of the cage has seats a for the tips of the carriers;

In. each seata .is mounted a yielding latch, conveniently made as a bent spring a, 1g.

4, secured at one end to the closed end of the seat and arranged to press firmly against the tip of the carrier and hold it securely yet removably in the cage.

The filling-ends 6* are led from the carriers'over the seats'a to the end a of the cage, notched slightly at a, Fig. 5, to receive the filling-ends, which latter are drawn under and held by light spring clips or holders a one for each filling-end, and mounted on the outer face of the cage end a.- These filling-ends-holders are clearly shown in- Figs. 3, 4 and 5 and they need only be strong enough to retain their grip on the ends under ordinary-circumstances. I

-The top and bottom of each cage have deep notches a therein'opposite each other,

Fig. 3, at the back of the cage, and adjacent the cross-bar a said notches being alined with the tip portions of the filling-carriers, for a purpose to bedescribed hereinafter. 'A

second pairof deep notches a is made in the.

top and bottom of the cage substantially in alinement with the butts of the fillingcarriers B, as best shown in Fig. 3,and near theend' a a third but shallower pair of notches a are provided.

The cages are'sustamed in upright position in the magazine, and when in diScharging position, a filled cage when viewed from the rear of the loom appearing as shown in Fig. 3. Preferably round projections a a extend from the opposite ends of each cage at top and bottom thereof, and as shown in Fig. 1 the 'projections are midway between the front and rear edges of the frame constituting the cage. Supposing the cages to have been filled or loaded, they are then placed in the magazine, presently. tobe described. v

In the Northrop loom, an example of which is found in United. States Patent No. 529,940, November 27, 1894,21 starting shaft is provided, which shaft is'rocked to effect the operation of fill-ing-replenishin mechanlsm whenever replenishment of lling in the running shuttle isnecessary, due to the exhaustion, breakage, or substantial exhaustion of the filling in use. Such movement of the starting shaft causes a transferrer to transfer a freshfilling-carrier from the rotary feeder nto the shuttle, at thesame time ejecting therefrom the spent carrier, all in a. manner fam1l1 ar .to'those skilled in the art. In Figs. 1 and" 2 the transferrer C and notched dog D of such mechanism areshown, "the transferrer rocking on the fixed stud C and being retracted orlifted by a spring C", and "it is moved downward to transfer a filling-carrier from the feeder. tothe shuttle when the dog D is engaged and moved by the hunter D, Fig. 1, on the lay, all as in the Northrop type of loom. 1

The usual rotary filling-feeder of the Northrop loom is used herein, comprising essentially connected disks E, E, shown in part in Fig. 6, and it is constructed and operated in the usual manner, the disks rotating on brace the horizontal arm E at its inner and outer -ends,. respectively, Fig. 1, upright standards'F being rigidlysecured to the rear ends of the members F, Fig. 1. The bracket hubs are fixedly secured to said arm E", the

inner bracket F being-located close to the inner face of the feeder stand E At the front ends of the bottom members F are rigidly attached upright standards F which extend above and depend below the members F, and theopposite inner faces thereof are longitudinally grooved or channeled, as at f,fr0m top to bottom, to consti tute a guideway as well as form the front of the magazine.

Each groove is widened-at its upper end and its rear wall curved, as at f, see

dotted lines Fig. 1, to coincide with the upper surfaces of opposite ledges f extending from the inner faces of' lates F connecting the upper ends of the ront and rear standards F said ledges being inclined downward and frontward and constituting supports for the upper ends of the cagesA when inserted in the magazine. The plates 'F project above the ledges or su ports f as'shown in Figs. 1 and 2, to orm side guards therefor. A second pair of inclined supports F Fig. 1, are'located below the pair f?, and in parallelism therewith, at such a distance therefrom that when-a cage A is placed in the magazine from its open back the projections a will rest upon the upper supports f sus nding the cage in upright posltion, and t e lower projections "(1. will just touch the lower supports F The rear walls of the groovesare cutaway just above the front ends 0 the supports F and the .tops of the latter are curved, at f, Fig. 1, to meetthe rear walls of the groove below said supports, to enable the projections a" of a cageto travel from said supports into the upright guideway,

the projections a of the cage traveling 1n similar manner from the upper pair of s11 ports f over the curved part. f into t e upper end of the guideway formed by the opposite grooves f. i

The filled cagesare placed in the maga- [zine one after another and slide forward along the supports, the leading or front cage passing into the -guideway and descending therein by gravity into dischargingposition, and afterone cage completely clears the magazine the next one will enter the guideway, as shown in Fig. 1. such time the upper projections a of the lower cage engage the lower projections 0a of the cage next above and support such cage, in an obvious manner, the remaining cages being held in the magazine by the cage in theupper part of the guideway.

to contain a'suflicient number of cages for for any other quantity desired, it being designed that the magazines will be filled each day'when work begins, by employees other than the weavers.

As shown in Fig. 1 the lower portion of rotary feeder and substantially tangent thereto, so that when a cage descends in such guideway the open seats forthe fillingcarri'ers therein face the feeder.-

Positioning means.The cage must be positioned for the discharge of the filling-carriers one by one, and after a carrier is ,discharged the cage must be permitted to descend in the guideway far enough to bring the next remaining carrier into discharging position. i

Referring to Figs. 1, 2, 6 and 8, the stud C has fixed thereon an upturned and rearwardly inclined T shaped arm G, located between the feeder 'plates E, E and provided with rigid, frontwardly extended fingers g,

path of the butts and tips; respectively, of the filling-carriers contained in a cage. The finger g clears'the top and bottom of the cage by virtue of the notches a", previously erses the notches a so that there is no engagementbetweenthe fingers and a cage at any time. When a cage descends in the therein is engaged and stopped by the fingers g, g in position to be discharged from the cage and inserted in the, feeder, and during such movement the rings 6 of the edge of finger 9 while the tip of the carrier As the feeder rotates in the direction of arrow 100, Fig. 1, each carrier inserted in the feeder is carriedupward and away from the positioning members as the feeder rotates, and when the inserting device isretracted therein into engagement with and. to be stopped the positioning members or fingers g, 9 and 1n like manner the cage-descends intermittingly until the carriers have The magazine can be made large enough.

the guideway is adjacent the front of thereferred to,-and similarly the" finger g trav-' carrier travel rearward along the uppertravels along the upper edge of finger g one days supply of filling for the loom, or

g which project into the guideway in the 4 guideway the lowermost carrier B held the cage drops to bring the next carrierv charge from thecage and insertion in the feeder.

4o carriers are inserted in the eede'r.

, all been discharged, whereupon the empty cage drops from the bottom of the guideway,

The inserting mechanism is herein shown as an arm H rocking on the inner end of -stud 0 adjacent the feeder stand E fsee Fig. 6, and retracted by a spring H", said arm bein equipped with appropriate parts h, k whlch act respectively upon'the butt and tip of the filling-carrier during its dis- The operation of such parts is very similar to'the operation of corresponding parts of the usual Northrop transferrer, as will be apparent from an inspection of Fig. 8. A lateral extension H from the foot of the inserter H is located in front of the depending arm C on the transferrer hub, and when the transferrer C is. operated to transfer a filling-carrier from the feeder to the working shuttle the inserter is operated to discharge a carrier from the cageand insert it in the feeder. Thissupplying of the feeder with a filling-carrier each time a carrier is transferred therefrom to the shuttle is effected in the Stone apparatus before referred to, andasthereln Iprovided for the elongated upper edge of t e part h of the inserting devlce engages the next filling-car-j rier abov'e ituntil-sai device returns to normal position. Herein upon such return the cage drops one step to bring such previously -engaged carrier into discharging position, members g, 9

resting upon and stopped by t e positioning Means for controlling the fillingends.-

As the filling-ends are primarily held by I the holders on the cages it is necessary to assume control of such fillin -ends when the To this end the tip-supportln plate E of the feeder has suitably connecte, with it the elongated hub'M of a disk M, located at some distance beyond the outer face of the disk E, as

- shown in Fig. 1, the hub M turning on the arm or' fixed shaft E".

- p The'di'sk M isradially slotted at M, Figs}- 1 and 5, the slots corres onding in number with the total number 0 supporting devices for filling-carriers on the feeder, and a peripheral oove "m, is formed-in the outer face of sald disk, Figs. 4 and 5. A series of filling-end holders are mounted 'on the. disk, each holder being conveniently made of.re1-

atively stiff spring wire. Each holder comprises a straight shank m secured at its bent laterally into a substantially U-shaped innerend to the disk at m Fi 1, and extendedradially along the mid e of a slot M tothe outer end thereof, whereat it is portion m projectingbeyond the inner face of disk M, Figs. 2 and 4, and then the holder 1s agaln bent to extend radially across the outer face of the peripheralpart of the disk,

as at m. The extremity of the holder is i for the catchers, as indicate in Fig. 4. Referring to Fig. 5 the dotted circle B indicates the last filling-carrier which has \i been discharged from cage A and inserted and bottom of a cage providin a clearance in the feeder, the latter having advanced one .step after such insertion and the cage 'A has dropped one step to bring the next carrier B into discharging position. It

will Joe-seen that the filling-end 12 of that carrier is now just above the lower one of the .two catchers m andwhen carrier B 9 is inserted in the feeder itsfilling-end will occupy substantially the position shown by the'dotted line leading to the sniall er of the two dotted circles B Afters ch'insertion the discharging device H and its parts is retracted and the feeder advances one step in the direction of arrow 100, thereby causing the lower one of the two catchers m shown in Fig. 5 to' catch or engage the fill-' ing-end 6 and draw it down into the groove m, where it is firmly held by; the

part ha of the holder, and at the same time the filling-end will be disengaged from or pulled out of the holder don the cage, such holders being made of less holding power than the holders on the disk M. Thus the insertion of each filling-carrier into the rotary feeder from the cage'places its 'fillingend in position to be caught by the holder .mbvable with the feeder, and the subsequent advance" of the latter causes the proper holder on the feeder to assume control of the filling-end of the carrier last inserted and to disengage it from the holder on the -tive carriers are transferred from the feeder to the shuttle by the usual transferrer C, and it will be understood that the length'of ,filling from the disk M to the. cloth will be commonly employed in connection with Northrop looms. Such severed ends hang down-'fromthe holders on disk M until they threads by an automatic device comprising -"afsegmental plate 75 located adjacent the inner face of the disk M and normally just clearing the bends m Fig. 2, the plate being mounted on arod 76 mounted to slide longitudinally in separated bearings 77 Fig.

cage. The holders on the feeder maintain, control of the filling-ends until their respec- 7 severed by any usual thread-cutting devicespass beyond the transferring point, after which the holders are caused to release the 6, on a bracket 78 fixedlymounted on the outer end of the transferrer stud C. A pin 79 on the rod moves in a slot 80 in one of thebearings, to prevent turning of said rod, the latter;v having fast upon it a collar 81 acted upon by a spring 82 between the bearings, the spring serving to laterally position the segmental plate and rod as shown in Figs. 2 and 6. The inner endof rod 76 is beveled at 83 to cooperate with a cam lug 84 on the hub of the transfe'rrer C,

as shown in Figs. 6 and 7.

and the ends m are temporarily lifted out of the groove m in the disk M, thus releasing the ends of filling and permitting them to drop to the floor. WVhen the transferrer resumes its normal position the spring 82 retracts plate 7 5 and the bends m return to normal position, restoring the holders to active condition, the holders being rendered inoperative successively as the feeder rotates.

By making the plate 75 long enough to act upon several of the bends m at each transferring operation it will be manifest that each holder is opened or rendered in- 1 operative a plurality of times, so that there is no possibility of the ends of filling being retained unduly by the holders. I

In Figs. 1 and 2 I have not shown the filling-ends held by the several holders movable with the feeder, as the illustration of the mechanism would be confused thereby, the showing in the larger detail View, Fig. 5, being deemed sufiicient for a proper understanding of this feature.

As the operation of the apparatus has been explained from time to time through- .out the preceding description no further explanation is believed necessary to enable the operation of the various instrumentalities to be fully andclearly understood.

Narious changes or modifications in details of construction and arrangement may be made by those skilled in the art'without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention as set forth in the claims annexed hereto. v

Havin fully described my invention, what I c ai'm as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent isz- 1. An automatic filling-replenishing loom having a rotary feeder, an automatic transferrercooperating therewith, a magazine having means to engage the up er ends of and suspend a series .of cages in epende'ntly of each other and sustain themslidably in upright position, each cage adapted to hold a plurallty of filling-carriers, means to direct the cages singly from-the magazine into discharging positlon relatively to the feeder, a device to discharge automatically the carriers one by one from the positioned cage and place them in the feeder, and means projecting between the sides of the cage and cooperating with t-he next carrier to be discharged to maintain in position the cage holding such carrier. 2. An automatic filling-replenishing loom having a rotary feeder, a magazine having inclined supports, a series of cages each adapted to hold a plurality of removable filling-carriers and provided with projections to rest upon and slide alon the supports, a guideway to cooperate with the projections and direct the cages into discharg ing posit-ion, an inserter to engage and discharge the carriers one by one and, insert them 'in the feeder, and a transferrer to remove the carriers singly and automatically from said feeder. r

3. An automatic filling-replenishing loom having'a rotary feeder, a magazine having inclined supports, a series of cages each adapted to hold a plurality of removable filling-carriers and provided with projections to rest upon and slide alon the supports, a guideway to cooperate wit the projections and direct the cages into di'scharg ing position, an inserter to engage and discharge :the carriers one by one and insert them in the feeder, and a transferrer to remove the carriers singly and automatically from said feeder, combined with means to cooperate with the leading carrier of the discharging cage a-IId POSIlEIOII such carrier for cooperation with the inserter.

4. An automatic filling-replenishing loom having [a rotary feeder, a magazine having inclined su ports, a series of cages hav ng lateral .proyections to rest upon and sl de along the supports while the cages are maintained in npnght position, each cage adapt- .ed to hold a plurality of removable fillingcarriers, a guideway to direct the cages by gravity into discharging position, an auto matic inserter to remove the carriers singly from a positioned cage and insert them 1nv the feeder, fixedly, mounted means pro ecting between the sides of the cage and cooperating successively with the carriers therein to govern the feed movement of such cage as its carriers are removed, and a transferrer to remove the carriers automatically .from the feeder.

5. An automatic filling-replenishing loom having a rotary feeder, a magazine having inclined supports, a series of cages each adapted to hold a plurality of removable upright guideway adjacent and substan- I the feed of a cage during discharge of its carriers, and an instrumenta'lity to cooperate automatically with the carriers in the cage and insert them one by one in the feeder.

6. 'An automatic filling-replenishing loom having, in. combination, a rotary feeder for holding filling-carriers and from which said carriers are transferred to the shuttle, a cage adapted to hold a plurality of removable fil'ling-carriers and having a filling-end holder for each carrier, automatic mechanism to'remove the carriers from the cage and insert them in the feeder, and means on the latter to withdraw the filling-ends from the holders and retain control thereof until the corresponding carriers are transferred.

- from the feeder.

' serted in thefeeder; J

8. An automatic filling-replenishing loom l1aving,' in combination, a rotary feeder for holding filling-ca rriers and from which said" carriers are transferred to the shuttle, a cage adapted to hold a plurality. of removable filling-carriers and having spring-holders" for the filling-ends, automatic mechanism to remove the carriers from the cage and insert them in the feeder, and a circularly-ar- 1 ranged series of catchers movable with the feeder, each withdrawing afilling-end from.

the spring-holder as its carrier is removed from the cage and retaining controlof such filling-end untilthe corresponding carrier is transferred from thefeeder.

9. An automatic filling-replenishin loom having, in combination, a rotary fee er for holding filling-carriers and from which said carriers are transferred to the shuttle,-means I to present groups-of filling-carriers to the v feeder and having a holder for the fillingend of each carrier, mechanism to insert automatically the carriers of a group singly in the feeder, means movable with the latter to disengage the filling-ends fromsuch holders and to retain control of the filling-ends until removal of the corresponding carriers from the feeder, and an instrumentality to thereafter act upon said disengaging and holdin means and cause release '0 the fill- .iHg-en s. 1Q. An automatic filling-replenishing loom having, in combination, a rotary feeder for holding filling-carriers and from which said carriers are transferred to the shuttle, an

carriers in, the feeder, means to hold the filling-ends from such holding means as the corresponding carriers areinserted in the 'by the feeder to replenishing tially tangent to said feeder, a cage adaptedto hold a plurality of removable'filling-cap riers and having a filling-end holder for each carrier, said ea c being movable in the guideway into discharging position, automatic mechanism to discharge the carriers therefrom singly and insert them in the'feeder, a device to cooperate with the lowermost carrier in the cage and position such carrier for discharge, and means movable w1th the feeder to disengage the fillingends from theholders as their carriers are discharged and to retain control of the filling-ends until'transfer of the corresponding carriers fro'mthe feeder. v

11. An automatic filling-replenishing loom having, in combination, a rotary feeder-for holding filling-carriers and from which said at the outer end of the feeder and rotatable J carriers are transferred to the shuttle, a disk therewith, a series of filling-end catchers V mounted on said disk, each catcher having its outer end extended beyond the periphery of the disk'and in the direction 'of rotation of the feeder, means to present groups of filling-carriers for insertlon in the feeder, such means includin devices to hold sea; rately the filling-en s of the carriers of a group, and mechanism to insert the fillingcarriers of a group one by one into the feeder, the .outer end of a catcher passing underand assuming control automatically of the filling-end of a carrier as it is inserted in the feeder.

12. An automatic filling-replenishing loom having, in combination, a rotary "feeder for holding filling-carriers and from which saidgcarriers are transferred to the shuttle, automatic mechanism for inserting filling:

fillin end of each carrier prior to its inser t-ion 1n the feeder, and devices on the latter to grasp and disengage automatically the feeder. I

13. An automatic filling-replenishing loom having, in combination, a rotary feeder for holding filling-carriers and from which said matic mechanism for inserting filling-can. riers'inthe feeder, means to hold the fillingend of'eachcarrier'prior to its insertion 1n the feeder, and spring-acting devices carried asp and disengage automatically the filling-ends from such. holding means as the corresponding carriers are inserted in the feeder and maintain control of such filling-ends until after transfer of their carriers from the feeder.

14. An open, rectangular cage for fillinglooms, provided with means to sustain the butts and tips of a plurality of filling-carriers, a filling-end holder for each carrier, on the end of the cage nearer the carriers are transferred to the shuttle, autosmear tip-sustaining means, and projections extended from opposite ends of the cage at its to 1 R5. A cage for filling-replenishing looms, provided with means to hold aplurality of removable above another between the top and bottom of the cage, filling-end holders on one end of the cage, and projections extended from opposite ends of the cage at its top and bottom, respectively.

,16. A detachable cage ishing loom, having means to grasp and hold a plurality of filling-carriers arranged one above another between its top and bottom, and having also a filling-end holder for each carrier, the top and'bottom of the cage tips of the carriers.

filling-carriers disposed one for a 'filling-replen- .being' deeply notched opposite the butts and 17. In a filling-replenishing loom, a skele-' ton magazine having upper and lower pairs of parallel and inclined supports, an upright guideway communicating with the,

lower ends thereof, removable cages each adapted to hold a plurality. of removable filling-carriers arranged one above another between the top and bottom of the cage, projections extended from the opposite ends of each cage attop and bottom thereof, to rest upon and slide along the inclined supports and maintain the cages upright in the maga-v zine, said cages moving one by one into the guideway and descending therein by gravity, means to govern the feed of the cages down the guideway, a rotary feeder adjacent and'substantially tangent to the guideway,

and automatic mechanism to transfer the filling-carriers one by one from the lowermost cage to the feeder.

18. An automatic filling-replenishing loom having, in combination, a rotary feeder, a magazine'for a series of cages each adapted to hold a plurality of removable filling-carriers and having holders for the filling'ends of the carriers therein, means to present the cages into discharging position, automatic mechanism to transfer the filling-carriers singly from, acage so positioned to the feeder, and a series of filling-end holders movable with the'latter, each of such holders having a device to catch the filling-end of a carrier and disengage it from its holder onthe cage when the carrier is transferred to the feeder, whereby the filling-end of a carrier is first retained by a holder on the cage and thereafter by a holder movable with the feeder.

19. An automatic filling-replenishing loom having, in combination, a rotary feeder, a cage to hold a removable filling carrier and having a'holder-for the filling-end thereof,

name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses;

oHARLEs A. LITTLEFIELD.

Witnesses -FRANK J. BUTCHER, F. A. MACDONALD. 

